coastline and now it's virginia coastline. up to parramour island. don't see if we see it extended up into the maryland beaches and perhaps new jersey and southern new england before all it said and done as much of the coastline has a date with earl late thursday and during the day on friday. let's take a look at earl. maximum winds still 125 mile- per-hour. that makes it a category three. the pressure is up a little bit. still racing off to the north and west at 16 miles per hour and it looks like it will be parked off of the coastline the north carolina by late thursday night and early friday morning and then race along the coastline east of the washington area during the day on friday. so we'll watch this one carefully as it will be fairly close to very big populated areas. today's forecast, let's push on and talk about current conditions here in washington. no problems. today has a lot of sunshine and in fact next several days a lot of sunshine across the washington area. currently 78 in downtown washington. 60% humidity. winds out of the south and west

at 3 miles per hour. our forecast generally a good one. although hot again this afternoon. 95 degrees. we'll have a gradual cool-down. i'll show you that on the five- day and we'll talk about the path of earl in a couple of minutes. allison, gurvir, back to you. >> tucker, thanks. more on hurricane earl now after barreling through the caribbean, category four storm now threatening to sideswipe the east coast. or has it been downgraded to three? >> it's been three, but it is still a massive storm and there are concerns from here to the carolinas about how earl will effect labor day weekend. sarah simmons is joining us live with the latest. >> reporter: well some people have already had their vacation plans interrupted early. from what we know this morning, we know that folks on the north carolina island of ocracoke have been evacuated as well as hatteras island is also being evacuated. now we've learned within the hour. and hurricane earl is now a category three. it has been downgraded but make

no mistake about it here, it can still do a lot of damage with winds packing up to 125 miles per hour right now. maryland emergency officials are meeting today about the impact it's expected to have on ocean city. the mayor there said they have about 200,000 people there now leading up to this big labor day weekend. city officials are also warning swimmers about the dangerous riptides there in the water. now here in d.c. they don't expect much from hurricane earl. however, residents are being asked to prepare for power outages and flooding similar to what we have seen during the severe storms lately. virginia governor bob mcdonnell is expected to declare a statewide emergency today. that will give national guard troops and state police a chance to get into place for that storm. now one of the reasons why virginia leaders have been quick to issue the warning is because of hurricane isabel. this is video from september 2003 when the storm hit seven years ago. 33 people were killed.

more than half of the state was without power. and the storm left behind more than a billion dollars in damage. later on a state review revealed that the virginia disaster preparedness plan were not set up to handle a storm of that magnitude. at this point there is much more vigilence. a hurricane watch is in effect, along the virginia coast and so they are wanting people to pay close attention to the evacuation plans and also make sure they know of where shelters may be opening and also make sure you have an emergency kit put together for whenever hurricane earl hits. back to you, allison and gurvir. >> thank you, so much, sarah. evacuations are under way in north carolina as hurricane earl approaches the east coast. >> officials ordered all tourists to leave ocracoke island. and year round residents are being asked to leave but they don't have to follow evacuation

orders. joining us on the phone is dorothy with emergency management. thank you for joining us. >> thank you, good morning. >> what can you tell us about what is going on there right now and more about the evacuation order? >> we had an evacuation order issued this morning for hatteras island, which is the southern most portion of dare count and the outer banks. that's just gone into effect. i think we'll see visitors on hatteras island pack up and move out of the area later this morning. >> and that is what you are hoping for. the timing couldn't be worse, labor day weekend, but is that what you are hoping for, for the safety of your visitors? >> absolutely. with the track about 80 miles off shore, there is certainly the chance that it could still shift to the west and put hurricane force winds, even with the winds projected on this track, we know we'll get

significant overwash and flooding on highway 12 which is the only road leading to hatteras island. >> when it comes to just other things that people who are going to be there can do, what are you telling them to do in terms of getting ready? >> well we've been advising folks for a couple of days now, certainly people who live here know the drill just because of the geography of the area, but having things that are loose outside, bringing those things in, preparing a kit in case they have to sustain themselves for several days without power and such. so just making -- taking the steps and making the necessary precautions. >> unfortunately, dorothy, you are no stranger to this sort of strong weather down there. i guess as you're going into this and looking at another one now, what is the wisdom you bring into it as we're facing yet another hurricane in that area? >> well i think that for those of us who live in this area, certainly we know the threats.

and i think it's communicating with our visitors and making sure that they are aware. sometimes you look at that track and you see that line and i think it's really important to understand that that line can move to the left and have a significant impact. so it's remaining vigilant and making the necessary precautions. and at this point for hatteras and visitors, going ahead and leaving the area down south. >> it's still early and it's wednesday and so labor day weekend isn't here yet but a lot of people may be down there early. do you anticipate any problems as far as getting visitors out of there? >> we don't anticipate problems. a lot of our -- a lot of the people who vacation here, vacation for the weekend and check into homes for a week. so it's a saturday to saturday or sunday to sunday rental. so we anticipate that today for

hatteras island would be like a routine saturday where people are ending their vacation and heading home. >> dorothy tulane with the derek county emergency management. we sure hope this does minimal damage, if any at all. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. fox 5 is following hurricane earl's track. we're live in ocean city beginning on fox 5 news at 5:00. tonight our live team coverage will continue on fox 5 morning news. and if you would like to track the storm, go to our website, myfoxdc.com. click on my fox hurricane and you can find satellite images and live streaming video. you'll find a link on the top of the home page. again that's myfoxdc.com. at 7 minutes after the hour, we turn to two big international issues that the u.s. has taken a huge stake in. the one in iraq and the other new efforts at mideast peace just beginning. we begin with the u.s.-led combat operations in iraq coming to an end. president barack obama making the announcement in an address

to the nation from the oval office last night. 50,000 troops do remain on the ground in iraq to train iraqi security forces but the president said this is the turning point in the mission that so many have been waiting for. >> ending this war is not only in iraq's interest, but it's in our own. the united states has paid a huge price to put the future of iraq in the hands of its people. we have sent our young men and women to make enormous sacrifices in iraq. and spent vast resources abroad at a time of tight budgets at home. we persevered because of belief we share with the iraqi people. a belief that out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilization. through this remarkable chapter in the history of the u.s. and iraq, we've met our responsibilities. now it's time to turn the page. >> the war in iraq began in

march of 2003 under the bush administration. last night the president acknowledged that he and president bush have disagreed about the war from the very beginning and he said in his address last night there was no commitment to the nation. and we're getting a word of change of military commanders in iraq. the general is being replaced by a new army general, lloyd austin who is taking over. vice president joe biden is also at today's ceremony in bagdad. the white house is now getting ready for diplomatic meetings. tomorrow the president of palestine and the prime minister of israel arrived in town last night and we look at the attempt of peace in the middle east. >> reporter: the conversation remains light for now, but this

is the first in a flurry of meetings for hillary clinton about mideast peace talks. >> it's typical in advance of presidential bilateral meetings the secretary of state will meet with the leaders as well. >> reporter: after meeting with mahmoud abbas, and then benjamin netanyahu and then tony blair were all on the docket. this is as president obama prepared to host the leaders of egypt and jordan in a bid for peace. >> we are fully engaged in the substance of our search for middle east peace. >> reporter: thursday will mark the first direct negotiations in 20 months. against the back drop of upcoming talks, a palestinian gunman killed four israelis on the west bank. hamas claiming the responsibility. >> there are some that will

disrupt or derail the process. >> reporter: the biggest hurdle is the jewish settlement and the fate of jerusalem. mike maco witz, fox news. and now in just two days national pitcher stephen strasburg will undergo tommy john surgery. he tore a ligament while pitching against philadelphia last month. now the recuperation period is expected to be 12-18 months, a year to a year and a half. he finished the season with a 5- 3 record. >> isn't that weird how that works. life is just a rollercoaster. >> you never know from day-to- day. >> hopefully you come back stronger. coming up on fox 5 morning news, frustration for drivers. they continue over computer problems in virginia. we'll get the latest on when it will be fixed from the spokes person from virginia dmv just ahead. and now a new poll showing

the d.c. school chancellor is polarizing voters in the district. that's next. coming soon to a theater near you, calorie counts at concession stands. the question is do you really want to know? ksgo t

making headlines at 15 minutes after 9:00 this morning, it's a mixed bag of news for d.c. mayor fenty. just 13 days before its election. a washington post poll indicates michelle rhee has polarized voters in the district. 41% of registered democrats say her record will be a reason to vote for fenty, but 40% say her leadership is a reason to vote him out of office. there is no doubt this is good news for the mayor as there has been improvement in the public school year. education is one of the biggest issues in the mayor race. john henrehan has the story. >> reporter: five years ago the

washington lawyers committee for civil rights releasing a scathing report on the schools that reminding us that the army corp of engineers had assessed 70% of the school buildings as being in poor physical condition. and yes, for several years after that, the city was spending nothing on capital expenditures for schools. adrian fenty made improving education the centerpiece of his first run for mayor and the city council allowed michelle rhee to be hired with sweeping powers. so they have decided to revisit, and this time discovering improvements are dramatic and unprecedented. >> there are improvements in most of the areas that we looked at, including funding, test scores, teachers' compensation, facility

modernization, special education. >> reporter: mayor fenty has said to keep him in charge. >> this is another great independent report showing that the work of chancellor rhee have tough decisions that are not politically popular are paying off in the education of children. >> reporter: vince gray, when told about the new report on schools, reminded reporters he supported giving the mayor and chancellor broad powers over the school system but his education plan said gray will be more inclusive. >> i intend to have a much broughter approach to public education beginning at birth and running through age 24. >> reporter: education is not the only issue, but it's a big issue in the democratic mayor's race. primary election day in d.c. is two weeks away. in d.c., john henrehan, fox 5 news. >> john, thanks so much. and we want to remind you that this friday mayor fenty and his main challenging vincent gray will face off here on fox 5 morning news. you can catch their live in-

studio debate beginning at 9:00 in the morning. if you would like to submit your questions to ask the candidates, go to myfoxdc.com and let us know what questions you want us to add. calorie counts, they are coming to menu boards at restaurants and vending machines and now possibly moving theaters as well. it's part of a new rule enacted by the health care reform law. >> and most movie goers would rather not know. >> reporter: ask just about any movie movie goer -- the between meal stacks can be loaded with fat and calories and soon consumers can know how much. >> i kind of know, but it's a treat. so every now and then i think it's okay. >> reporter: the fda interpretation of the health care reform law will subject movie theater chains with 20 or

more locations to the same requirements for large chain restaurants, having to post calorie counts on the menu board. large popcorn on average is about 1,000 calories. add 100 calories for each tablespoon of butter. jumbo box of candy is 500 calories or more. >> it will get everybody back in shape. >> reporter: in fairfax, virginia, this owner worries about what the rules might mean for other owners. >> if it was up there, it might keep them from buying it. >> reporter: and concessions are important to the business' bottom line. >> it's where we make our money. post ofous -- most of our money. so we've tried sugar free county, fat-free muffins, none of it helped. >> reporter: the national theater owners association said movies aren't food establishments. >> people come to the movies

because it's entertainment. >> reporter: but many movie lovers say they come here to escape reality rather than be faced with it. melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >> okay, i don't want to know. you go to movies to get away from things. >> you certainly do. the fda's interpretation includes grocery stores, airlines and trains in the posting requirements. the agency is looking for comments from businesses. those rules have to be finalized by march of next year. coming up next, more insight into the 2008 presidential election from an unlikely source. arizona senator john mccain's daughter, and what megan mccain is revealing about sarah palin in her new book coming up next. and seasons of the past are sometimes hidden under our feet. holly is in frederick, maryland, where archeologists have turned a whole new page in history. and now our question of the

day. how much does the washington monument weigh? around 71,000 tons, around 81,000 tons, or around 91,000 tons? wait a minute. there is a d. around 101,000 tons. the common theme is tons. you can make your guess at myfoxdc.com and click on mornings. we'll be right back. 

making headlines, the daughter of former presidential candidate and senator john mccain is out with a new book, megan mccain's book is titled dirty, sexy, politics. and she talks about her feelings of sarah palin. she called her the time bomb that could explode at any moment but describes her as a nice and down to earth person

with the ability to captivate women. she said her father lost the race because obama was unbeatable. and in alaska, the incumbent lisa murkowski has conceded to miller. she trailed 1600 votes after counting absentee ballots. this is the first time a tea party backed candidate defeated a sitting senator. miller had the endorsement of sarah palin. at 9:25, here is your cute dose today. the national zoo has four new members. an african lyon gave birth to a litter. the four cubs appear to be nursing. you can kind of see them there. but that's the only place you can see them. the zoo expects them to make the public debut in late fall. >> you can see a good one just now. and what started out as a sore throat is cancer and now michael douglas is vowing to beat the disease. and as we take a live look

outside, we'll get another check on our forecast from tucker barnes. we'll show you satellite images right now of the big story we're watching today. that is hurricane earl making its way toward the east coast. more on that when we return. !%

that's what we're talking about today, is earl. the big story. >> going to be the story for the next couple of days as it approaches the coastline. and very formidable. maximum winds over 125, and gusts over 140-150. that's a major storm. >> it was downgraded. >> but still, as i said earlier, in 2003 isabel came through and it was only a tropical storm. you can imagine how much more powerful earl is. and we'll continue to watch it as it approaches. thursday night and friday would be the timing. carolina coast first and then up the eastern seaboard. because of that we have a

hurricane watch. and this is a big change from last night. the hurricane watch has been extended to include most of the virginia coastline. so all the way from the north carolina-virginia border up to parramour island, virginia, now under a hurricane watch and the entire hurricane watch is from surf city, north carolina, right up to parramour island. i would not be at all surprised if it doesn't get extended to the maryland beaches and then up delaware and into new jersey later today as this will be a system that will impact much of the eastern seaboard. let's get to it and take a look. our latest look at hurricane earl. and you can see that the eye has become more distinct in the last couple of frames. very nice symmetry. this is a major hurricane. it has lessons -- lessened in intensity overnight but don't be surprised if it doesn't get strong. these storms fluctuate with intensity and it's tracking off to the north and west at about 16 miles per hour. why the concern about earl?

it looks like it will be close to the u.s. coastline. here is the track put out by the hurricane center. and these tracks fluctuate. here is the latest. 125 mile-per-hour winds and off to the north and west and we're hoping that it takes a turn north and east and just scoots along the coastline. if this path verifies, the effects here in washington will be breezy conditions and cloud cover. but if it moves further west, we could deal with more wind and rain here in washington. either way, a lot of problems along the coastline where they are guaranteed to get gusty winds and problems with storm surge as the storm races off to the north and east and the possibility to could make a landfall in southern new england. and if you want a nice weekend, most of the weekend should be nice. even at beaches and carolinas up to maryland, the beach

forecast by saturday and sunday looks much-improved. and hot, 80 degrees at reagan national. 78 in quantico. 81 in frederick. 75 in manassas. 81 in leonardtown. and hot this afternoon, a lot of sunshine and high temperatures back into the middle 90s. there is your satellite radar. clear skies, high pressure right across the mid-atlantic. look at that, clear skies from maine down into the carolinas. this is a cold front bringing us cooler air for the weekend. and we're also hoping that frontal system will help drive earl out to sea during the day on friday. our forecast, code orange air quality, 95 degrees. the afternoon high temperature, even though it's september, one more hot afternoon. winds out of the south at 5 miles per hour. and the five-day forecast, tomorrow a little better temperature-wise, 92. date-day clouds, thursday night and friday breezy conditions with highs in the upper 80s around here. and again, a lot depends on the track of earl and how much cloud cover and wind we get

here in washington during the day on friday. that's a look at the forecast. gurvir, back to you at the desk. >> and just a reminder, that you can depend on fox 5 when weather strikes. go to myfoxdc.com and click on my fox hurricane. there is a link at the top of the home page and you can check out live streaming video. stay with fox 5 on air to follow the track. we're live in ocean city tonight on fox 5 news at 5:00 and our live team coverage continues tomorrow morning on fox 5 morning news. topping the buzz bin today, actor michael douglas is optimistic with his battle over throat cancer. he spoke about it on letterman's late show. >> you're worried about it spreading. so i am head and neck -- above the neck and so nothing is going down and the expectations are good. it is going to cut into the

promotional tour for wall street to say the least. but -- >> i'm sorry to be dumb about this, but you look great and you don't sound like you have throat cancer. why is that? >> because i'm on stage. >> he's a true professional. he was joking. but douglas said he's already begun an eight-week treatment plan for radiation and chemotherapy. his chance for recovery is 80%. letterman ended the interview with the encouraging hug and he stars in wall street, money never sleeps, the sequel to the film for which he won the best actor oscar. so we were saying earlier, life is this weird -- best of times and worst of times. he seems optimistic. >> and looking forward to the movie. >> yeah, indeed. also topping celebrity

news. this is your read? >> is it? also topping celebrity news, new trouble for paris hilton. >> and dax is joining us because we love talking about the story. what is the latest and good morning to you? >> hi, dax. >> good morning, guys. here is the thing. this could get really bad for paris hilton. she was caught the other day with the cocaine out in las vegas. but this could be a felony charge against her. right now they are going through the evidence and they are going to decide if they want to charge her. well they have charged her but it's a felony possession and vegas is very, very strict when it comes to drug possession. she could face four years in prison however i doubt that would happen. i mean it was such a small amount. it was like .08 grahams. but just listening to the whole story, it's pretty comedic with her saying no, this is not my oak cain, someone put it in my purse and i switched purses and it was in there.

but it does seem a little far- fetched. >> paris, always causing problems. tell us about demi moore. i here she's quite the dancer. >> after her role in strip tease. what was the name of it? >> gi joe. >> that's another movie. >> yeah, strip tease. we got this great video of her out in vegas where snoop is rapping and she's getting freaky on him and backing it up and has this little black dress on and she's partying like she's 20 and she looks like it and then ashton kucher gets on the stage and she is getting low. it is awesome video seeing her out there. >> that is a little frightening, dax. that's making me uncomfortable. [ laughter ] >> well, what goes on in vegas, does not stay in vegas. >> not when there is tmz. >> keep up the good work.

>> thank you, dax. >> thanks, guys. coming up, frustration for drivers continuing over the computer problems at the dmv in the state of virginia. people haven't been able to get their licenses for days now. dmv officials have just wrapped up a meeting and we'll get the latest on when computers will be back up and running. that's next. and one more time, tucker. here is our trivia question of the day. how much does the washington monument weigh? 71,000, 81,000, 91,000 or 101,000 tons? you know who would know this? tony, because he used to be a tour guide. >> he would know this. >> but he's not here, so we'll give you the answer later in the show. stay with us. 

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one of the big stories we're following, virginia state troopers are being asked not to issue sumons to anyone with a driver's license that expired august 25th through september

30th. new licenses have not been issued since the computer glitch across the state last week and those hoping get a driver's license or i.d. card will have to wait longer. the problem continues to effect the department of motor vehicles and two other state agencies. joining us live by phone is melanie stokes the public media relations manager with the dmv. good morning. >> good morning, i know you've just come out of a morning. >> many cannot get their licenses processed. what is the latest? >> we are making a lot of plans what we are going to do and the system is recovered and we can start processing driver's license and i.d. cards, talking to our employees about working extra hours, or possibly coming in on saturday, when they weren't scheduled to. we have law enforcement officers across the state who normally investigate things

like driver's license fraud or i.d. card fraud or vehicle fraud, and they're going to be staffed in our offices to help with crowd control and getting people in line and into the offices and in chairs so they are more comfortable. so our meeting today was a lot about what we are going to do when we are in restoration of service mode and how we're going to accomplish that and get folks in and out of dmv as quickly as possible. i will tell you if the outage continues today, no driver's license or i.d. cards at dmv today. we don't know about tomorrow yet. of course we'll have the latest on our website as customers would like to check dmvnow.com or call our phone -- our hotline number for an automated message about that. and we do estimate 12226 people's driver's licenses or i.d. cards have expired since this

problem first began last wednesday. so that's a lot of people to be effected. >> it sure is, melanie. i wasn't expecting that huge of a number. but you say the latest now, you're still estimating recovery time is not known. am i right on that? >> you are right. and we hope to know something more concrete tomorrow. >> and that's an estimated number, that 12,000 number is as of right now, but what might it go up to? >> that's a great question. that's threw today, the 1st. how many licenses that expire through today is 12,000, but every day another -- anywhere from 600 to 1,000 folks expire every day. >> sure. >> so, yes, every day is goes on is more people impacted. >> also the latest news reports out of the post saying the failure was more complicated than thought. any hints as to what is behind this. >> i know one reason is we have

about 5 million driver records and 7 million vehicle records on our data base. extremely complicated and although i'm not a technical person, i heard it's very difficult to validate and synchronize that data and make sure it is there and working properly before we start the system up again. we want it to be right before we do. again issuing licenses to make sure that we can save the images and have people's records correct. >> right. >> and before we let you go, just to hit it home again, if you need a license right now, and some folks really have to get in their cars and get to where they are going, what are you telling people now in virginia? >> well we've -- we are so glad the state police was willing to work with us and help out by not issuing sumons those who have been impacted by this outage and i think the state police said they will extend that through the end of the month. so folks who have expired, when

the outage comes back up, come on in to dmv and please practice patience and we know it will be a lot of folks and there will be long lines so we're hoping get people in and out of there as weekendly as possible. we'll have all hands on deck, all employees will be there when the outage is over. >> that's good to hear for folks in that line. melanie stokes, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for getting the word out. you all have a great day. >> you too. coming up next, it's a popular place for teens to check out the latest movies and hang out and more but now a device may have teens holding ears and might not want to stick around as much. i think that call that loitering. to show you. but first let's check in with holly. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. they are uncovering a whole new chapter of history out in frederick county where we are

live at a battlefield where a historical dig is taking place. we'll tell you more about it coming up on fox 5 morning news. some people say i'm obsessed with my chickens. but i like to think i'm just going beyond the call of duty. cock-a-doodle-dooooo! i do 22 more inspections than the government requires. and my fresh, all-natural chickens are never given any hormones or steroids. ♪ they're fed a nutritious diet including corn, soybeans and marigolds. and no candy, gladys. [ clucks ] [ male announcer ] perdue. extra inspections. extraordinary chicken. what? they're more comfortable.

there is a new tool in the crackdown of teenage loitering at the gallery place commercial strip. >> the noise maker is called a mosquito and mounted on a wall. it pumps out sounds that many young people can live without. audrey barnes shows us how it works. >> reporter: you can hear it as soon as you get off the escalator at the gallery place metro stop. this speaker mounted on the wall is called a mosquito, an anti-loitering vicinity vented in whales that is now being used by cities around the world to cam bat vandalism and loitering. the teen-agers don't like the high pitched sound. >> it is annoying. i don't like it.

>> do you think it would be annoying enough not to have teen-agers hang out here. >> yes. we'll chill someplace out. >> reporter: it was installed weeks ago after officials met with the city council talking about the 70 person brawl that started at gallery place with teen-agers loitering there. >> it's annoying. >> reporter: is it annoying enough not to make teen-agers hang out around here? >> yeah. >> reporter: on the website, the makers say it can be heard by people the ages of 13 and 25. but the one at gallery place -- it didn't seem to bother older people as much as the teens. >> it's not that annoying to you? >> not at all. i'm doing just fine listening to it. >> i don't know what it will be like for younger crowds but it's not that bad right now for my ears. >> china town is a very loud place. that has no impact on anything

going on around here. plus i didn't know since it's really noisy. >> reporter: so since they are aimed as teen-agers -- >> it's doing its job. >> reporter: audrey barnes, fox 5 news. >> and gallery place owners are working with the city council to get anti-loitering legislation on the books. this morning holly is sharing an interesting history lesson with us. >> she at a battlefield where they are learning about a french caribbean plantation that once existed in the area. what they are finding is truly fascinating. good morning. >> reporter: the story here is fascinating, what they are finding is fascinate. that would have been the plantation house. the family came over from haiti. around late 17 hundreds and 18 hundreds they brought about 12 slaves. that's the maximum amount you can bring into country but while here they acquired many more and at some point had up to 90 slaves in the area where we are standing right now, and this would have been the slave

village. the park service acquired this land in ' 93 and in 2003 they did some archeological studies and found -- and surveys and found what they think are four of the buildings. they finally got the funding in this past june and they started the dig and a couple of weeks ago they used some more archeological resources and advanced technology and discovered two more buildings. and now they are literally unearthing it. jo beasley is here with me and in charge of the cultural resources for the battlefield. and so, what are we doing over here? >> we just opened this up this morning and we're coming right down on another mortared stone hearth feature. so this was probably the foundation for an exterior chimney along the lines of what you see on the smaller stone and log building there. >> reporter: now people might be surprised because you can see we're not very far below

the ground level here. so this is all very shallow. this is here to be found. >> right. and that's amazing. the site was cultivated for 200 plus years. when we discovered what we thought was the slave village site, we took this out of the agricultural leaves but it had been cultivated so it's amazing these are less than a half a foot below the surface and still in tact. >> reporter: and you're using a small little trowel and brush and brushing away what looks to be a little bit of dirt and finding so much. this is a very tedious process? >> it is certainly time- consuming. you have to be patient. but when you do find things and when it all works out, it's very rewarding and very exciting and we're happy to have the opportunity to find out more about who these people were and what their lives were like and to bring the site back to life. >> reporter: and you say that, obviously this is a very sobering story to tell. >> yep. but it's certainly one that is

critical i think to the understanding of the civil war, slavery as a cause of the civil war. and it's a very unusual circumstance for this area. so it's a real important part of the history. >> reporter: joy, thank you for letting us be here. this is joy's job. but overhear i have someone who volunteers to be a part of this discovery. this is becca walters. what do you have going on this morning? >> whatever dirt joy sifts out, i make sure she hasn't missed any pottery or glass. >> reporter: it's a dirty job but somebody has to do it, literally. so as you're going through here and sifting through and at what point do you say this is a rock or this is a piece of a plate or what? >> one way we can tell pottery and brick is to stick it on your tongue, it sticks to your tongue a little bit. >> reporter: you take this out of the dirt and stick it in your mouth? >> yes, sometimes. >> reporter: i wanted to make sure i didn't have dirt in my

ear and i heard that correctly. >> that's one way to tell from brick and pottery. >> reporter: it sticks to your tongue? interesting? >> and it has a shiny top on it or glaze. and we are finding mortar right now with joy being right at the -- look at that. that's a piece of mortar. >> reporter: interesting. >> and we find nails and glass. >> why do you give of your time this way? >> well i just finished my master's in archeology last year and i'm looking for a job, so rather be doing something in archeology or something rather than not. >> reporter: joy, are you looking for employees? this is rich in history in more ways than one and this continues to evolve as they continue their hard work out here. >> fascinating stuff. it's been really interesting this morning. much more coming up this morning. we'll get another check of the

weather and also the answer to our trivia question. and don't forget, you can ask me a question by heading to myfoxdc.com and clicking on the morning tab for a link to ask allison. i will answer your questions on just about any topic and it happens every friday during the 9:00 hour? this friday we're having the debate, so i don't think we'll have it this friday. but next friday we'll start it back up again. one more time. here is our trivia question. how much does the washington monument weigh? 71,000 tons, 81,000 tons, 91,000 tons or 101,000 tons. >> we'll find out later. >> ...berber carpet. it was a whole bowl of stew. nooo. why? i could have saved this one. i could have saved this one. ♪ call 1-800-steemer

here is the answer to today's trivia question which is how much does the washington monument weigh? the answer is c, around 91,000 .